LIBERTY, Ohio (WKBN) – Good attendance is a priority for being a good student. One Valley school district is working on its student attendance and is receiving help with it.

Chomps, the Cleveland Browns’ mascot, was roaming the halls of Liberty High School on Monday, encouraging the students to be in school every day.

“It’s a big thing. As far as attendance goes, the more time you miss, the less likely you are going to succeed,” said Liberty High School Principal Brian Knight.

Liberty is part of the Stay in the Game program run by the Cleveland Browns. The school has two former NFL players, but everyone is on the same team when it comes to creating excitement for the school.

Stats show that 473,000 Ohio students were chronically absent during the most recent school year. That’s two absences or more per month.

“Our chronic absenteeism rates have been steady over the past two years, but we definitely need to improve on that. Our goal is to reduce it by about 10% this school year,” Knight said.

Chronically absent students are 65% less likely to meet the third-grade reading guarantee. That’s why Liberty is focusing on absenteeism among kindergarten, grade six and grades 9-12.

Stay in the Game helps schools with attendance, engagement and ultimately, success. Some students got T-shirts to keep attendance on their minds.

“They have a very extensive playbook that really dissects our data and partner with the Department of Education to get us that data. So we’re able to see where the specific needs are for our school and our district,” Knight said.

Knight was an attendance advisor with the Ohio Department of Education when the program was started. He’s glad to be one of the schools getting help from the Browns and their owners.

“The Haslams are a big part of this. They take it very serious. It’s exciting to be a part of it,” Knight said.

Roughly 17 school districts are working with the Cleveland Browns Foundation on attendance this school year.